The Immortal and the Outcast
by MochiDeer
Summary: Emi meets two immortal men and bargains with them to take her to see their co-worker, Hoshigaki Kisame. Rated M for language and potential romance later on.
1. Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting

**A/N: This story does contain an OC, who I ship with a canon character. Please do not continue reading if you don't like that.**

"Hey, woman."

Those were the first words Emi heard from the man. She glanced over from where she was walking on the small dirt path, eyebrow raising at the scene she saw before her. There were two men; one was wearing a black cloak adorned with red clouds, and the other was seemingly struggling to breath as the other wrapped his arm around his neck.

"You wanna save this guy, right?" the man spoke again, eyes gleaming a strange red and green. "Pay up and I'll refrain from snapping his neck."

Emi stood back and quickly assessed the situation. The large man wore a mask over his face to hide his features, as well as a wrap around his head. The other man in question seemed to be an albino, and wore some simple black pants and a necklace; something that quickly piqued her interest.

"You're saying if I pay you some money, you'll let him go?" she questioned, hand resting on her hip.

"That's what I said" the man growled out impatiently, tightening his grip around the other. This caused the shorter man to cry out in what seemed like annoyance rather than pain. Emi sighed shortly before beginning to walk towards the pair.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked, stopping in front of the scene. "Even if you wanted to kill him you couldn't."

Her hand was brought up to point at the necklace. "This guy's immortal."

The two stopped and stared for a quick couple of seconds before quickly scattering and assuming attack stances.

"Smart one aye?" the shorter man sneered, hand lifting to push his slicked back hair into place. "That's a first."

Emi glanced at the two men before pointing at the black and red cloak. "Now that looks familiar. Tell me, are you affiliated with Kisame Hoshigaki in any way?"

The two glanced at each other before the taller stood up straighter. "That's none of your business."

"Ah you see now that's where you're wrong" Emi mused, picking at her nail absent mindedly. "See if you kill me and you ARE somehow connected to Kisame, I can guarantee that he'll slice you into tiny pieces and scatter your remains all over the country."

This caused the two men to look at her questionably. "And if we are?" The taller asked, stepping closer in an effort to cause intimidation.

"Well then you need to take me to him." Was the short answer.

The albino man started laughing hysterically. "You've got to be joking right? You're shitting me yeah?" he managed to get out as the taller sighed irritably. "And why would we take you to him?"

"So I can slap him across the face" she scowled, hand once again on her hip. "That idiot owes me an explanation and an apology." She sighed and looked at the taller. "You seem to be someone who's interested in money. Take me to him and I'll lead you to a bounty worth 50 million ryo."

The large man's eyes reflected that of curiosity. "50 million?" he asked, arms folding across his chest. "Well you've definitely caught my interest."

The albino groaned once money was mentioned. "For fuck sakes Kakuzu, don't be a wanker. Let's just kill her and continue on with our mission." The taller man, now known as Kakuzu, lifted a hand to shut him up. "If you successfully lead me to this...bounty. Then I will take you to see our co-worker" he growled out. "However if you turn on us in any way, or it turns out you were lying; we _will_ kill you."

"Good enough" Emi answered, hand reaching out to shake the others. "Your name's Kakuzu? I'm Emi."

"No one gives a shit" the albino spat, lip curled in distaste. Kakuzu turned to glare at him. "Shut your trap, Hidan. Our mission was to gain money and if we can make a quick 50 million then that's better than pretending to snap your god forsaken neck." He turned on his heel to look down at the small girl.

"Bounty first. Lead the way."

* * *

A few hours later saw the three crouched in a tree just outside of a small village.

"This village isn't very well known; but its home to one of the most successful casinos" Emi muttered to the two quietly. "The man in question is the owner; he stops by every couple weeks to check in. Since the village is so rural he'd never think that anyone would ever target him here."

Kakuzu's eyes scanned over the house tops. "And where do we find him?"

"Well if you want it to be quick and easy then you'll have to wait till nightfall. He stays in one of the inns so if we can get inside there you'll have no trouble." She pointed curtly to a larger building at the end of a street. "He's so laid back here that his bodyguard doesn't even sleep in the same room as him. It'll be easy."

Kakuzu watched as the small girl talked. "How do you know this much information?" he questioned.

Emi glanced back at him. "Honestly, I've been tracking him. I was planning on taking him down myself and claiming the 50 million but…to be honest I'd rather see Kisame." She sat back and studied the two. "You need to look less suspicious so lose the cloaks."

A few minutes of changing and the three swiftly made their way through the village, taking care not to look directly at anyone. Stopping outside the inn, Emi lifted her hand. "Just let me do the talking for this. Money won't be an issue." Kakuzu nodded curtly and Hidan still had the snarl on his face.

"You're too fucking soft, Kakuzu."

Rolling her eyes, Emi slid open the front doors and headed on in. "Good afternoon!" she called out to the receptionist, who greeted them with a warm smile. "We'd like a room for the night, please!"

The lady scanned through her book and tapped her finger. "I can get you a room with a hot spring, if you like?" she asked kindly, much to Emi's approval. "Yes, thank you!" she answered, bowing as the woman led them towards the room.

As the doors slid shut, Hidan stretched and looked around. "Why a hot spring if all we're gonna do is kill the guy?" he asked, unamused expression on his face.

"Because we're not killing him until he's asleep. You can relax until then; no one is suspicious of you" she told him, setting her bag down.

"Yeah but-"

Hidan stopped talking as soon as Kakuzu marched past him and out to the hot spring, pulling his shirt off as he did so. "You smell like shit, Hidan. Get in the water."

Hidan's face scowled once again as he folded his arms and muttered about what an idiot his partner was being, but after sniffing himself once he proceeded to enter the hot spring himself, making sure to keep a good distance away from the other burly man.

Emi sat on the opposite end to them, revelling in the peace and quiet. This was the second time she had been in a hot spring, and her body was thanking her for it. About half an hour passed before the three tensed up as another presence was felt.

" _Hello, Emi."_

 ** _To be continued_**


	2. Chapter 2: Quick and Easy

Emi glanced up to see a figure crouching on the wall surrounding their hot spring. They swiftly jumped down to land behind Kakuzu and Hidan, who watched on in interest, though retained a protective stance. Stepping into the light, a young long haired male stood grinning from ear to ear as he pointed a kunai in her direction.

"Finally found you, outcast! You didn't think you could run forever, right?" he joked, adjusting the headband around his head which sported the symbol for the Hidden Mist. "The Mizukage will be happy to know I found you~! Especially after I managed to track you for three days!"

Emi watched him, seemingly uninterested as he spoke. She inhaled and exhaled deeply before tilting her head up to look at him.

"When is she gonna learn that no matter who she sends I'm not going back…?" she asked rhetorically. "You don't seriously think I'm going to give in?"

The male shook his head with a dismissive gesture. "Well we'll be taking you by force, obviously. I mean ever since Hoshigaki defected, you've been on the hit list for ages-" he went on to say, but promptly stopped when Emi appeared directly behind him.

"You let your guard down" she sighed, before swiftly giving him a roundhouse kick to the neck. His body was flung into the closest wall, barely even able to take a breath before she grabbed the kunai he was holding and shoved it into his throat.

Kakuzu clicked his tongue as the young man died. "Well I can see you're an experienced fighter" he stated, watching as she picked the dead man up by the back of his collar. Emi glanced at him as her naked form went to throw the man over the wall.

"Kisame taught me. That's all you need to know." She pulled a face as she noted the blood dripping down her hands and quickly made her way back into her spot in the hot spring, cleaning the blood off as she went.

A few minutes passed before Hidan cleared his throat. "So you gonna tell us why you killed a guy while you were naked or..?"

He was cut off from the woman glaring at him. "I'm a defect from the Mist Village. They want me dead. That's all there is to it." Was the answer the irritable albino received. Kakuzu leaned his head back and watched as the moon slowly ascended into the sky.

"We should get ready."

The three made their way out of the hot spring and quickly got dressed before sitting down at the table together. "Now this is going to be a quick, silent job Hidan. No rituals, no torturing; just a straight, clean kill" Kakuzu gruffed out at the other, who showed his apparent dislike to the idea yet decided against protesting.

"Emi will wait here by the hot spring. We kill the guy, come back to the room and leave together. Is that understood?" he continued, looking between the both of them as they nodded in understanding. "Good."

The two men stood up after Emi indicated to them which room the bounty in question was staying in. She made her way to wait by the hot spring as the two men headed out, and it took a few mere minutes for them to return; Kakuzu carrying the now dead bounty over his shoulder who's neck had been cleanly punctured several times by a thin bladed weapon.

"You were right" Kakuzu acknowledged as he waved around his bounty book. "This guy is worth a good 50 million. Owner of not only this casino but several others throughout the region. You've done the Akatsuki a good service."

Emi's eyebrow raised at the word 'Akatsuki' but the thought quickly disappeared as the bounty's apparent bodyguard found the room empty. The three rouge ninja promptly made it out of there, jumping between houses before running quickly away from the village and into the dense forest.

They walked for a good few hours; the sun was beginning to rise as they arrived at a seemingly abandoned building. Hidan's face screwed up as he remembered where they were.

"Not the fucking bathroom collection office? Fuck that, I'm staying out here" he complained as the other rolled his eyes. "That shit smell took forever to get out of my clothes."

Emi chose to stay outside with the ranting albino as the taller Akatsuki member went to collect the bounty, not wanting to come out smelling like piss at the end of it.

The two sat in silence for a while before purple eyes glanced in Emi's direction. "How did you know I was immortal?"

She turned her head slightly to look at him. "Your necklace. I've heard about your religion. Jashinism, I think it was." She sighed as she leaned forward to stretch her back out. "Some sort of voodoo jutsu, I can't remember the details."

Hidan clicked his tongue in interest. "I'm surprised. Not many people know about it. I mean one of my goals is to educate heathens about Jashin and-" the man continued with his religious rant as Emi sat there and listened half-heartedly. A sigh of relief went unheard as Kakuzu emerged from the bathroom; hand clutching the handle of a briefcase.

"We'll head back to base now. Don't forget, Emi" he started as he looked at her. "If you are lying, you _will_ be killed."

Emi scoffed as she stood up. "Why the hell would I give you an easy 50 million if I didn't gain anything out of it?" she asked as the three began to walk in the direction of the current Akatsuki base.

 ** _To be continued_**


	3. Chapter 3: Don't Forget my Face!

Emi bit down on her lip gently as the three stood outside of the Akatsuki base. Framed by a large Torii gate was a massive boulder blocking the entrance to a cave situated in the middle of a lake.

"This is it?" Emi questioned, peering over to look at Kakuzu.

Kakuzu simply nodded before making a few hands signs and lifting the boulder, jerking his head as an indication that she walk inside. She walked through cautiously, guard up as the two men walked next to her and the boulder lowered back down after them.  
The inside of the cave was massive, yet empty. There was no sign of life, and Emi couldn't sense anyone present in the cave. Still, she was pushed to walk towards the very back of the cave where Kakuzu lifted a panel off of the wall. Emi peered over and behind the panel laid a staircase descending down.

"You live underground?" the small girl questioned as she followed them down the passage.

"It's easier to mask our presence. You wouldn't have been able to find anything if I hadn't shown you, hm?" the masked man answered, gaze tilting over to her as the staircase ended and they walked down a short hallway. The stone walls were lined with torches, however Emi noticed that a few bits of furniture had been placed; picture frames and carpets to name a few. Probably to make the place feel a bit more homey.

Kakuzu glanced around before heading through a doorway into another room. Emi followed him as Hidan followed her, the silver haired man yawning as they did so.

"I can't wait to put my fucking feet up" he muttered as they stopped still.

The inside of the room was made to look like a kitchen; a table and a few chairs sat in the middle of the room and the walls were lined with makeshift counters and cupboards. An old fridge stood in the corner, humming gently as the light above it flickered.

"Finally back, eh, zombies?" came a gravelly familiar voice as Kakuzu set his briefcase down. Seated at the table were two men; a dark haired man who was unmistakeably the famed Itachi Uchiha, and a large, tall, blue shark like man who was grinning menacingly at his slightly shorter co-worker. Kisame Hoshigaki.

"We got 50 million. Be grateful someone in this organization is willing to do the money making" Kakuzu growled out as he sat down in the opposite chair. "We brought you someone."

Emi gave Hidan a short glare as he shoved her forward, only to take a step back as the shark man towered over her form. Eyebrow raised, he looked her over before glancing back at Kakuzu.

"Who exactly have you brought me? I'm a tad bit confused" he asked, giving Hidan a questioning look as the other gave the woman a scowl.

"I fucking knew it! Knew this bitch was lying before even Kakapoo caught on-" he began, but not before stopping in his tracks as a loud slap was heard. The room went silent as Kisame lifted his hand to touch the cheek that had been slapped by the young girl.

"You're a huge asshole, you know that?!" Emi began, eyes glaring as she fumed at the other. "You raise me for five years before disappearing fuck knows where with no contact, no farewell, and when I finally get a chance to meet you again you don't even recognize your own SISTER?" she yelled, arms folded tightly across her chest as the blue man watched in shock.

"Sister? Raised you…..w-wait, Emi?!" he managed to stutter out as he took a step back from her, worried that she'd slap him again, ignoring the gaping look Hidan was giving him. Flashbacks of the small, weak child with short black hair that he had taken under his wing crossed his mind as he attempted to process what was happening.

"You have a SISTER?" the albino retorted, pointing a finger in her direction.

"Adopted sister" she replied, sneering at him. "Does it LOOK like we're blood related?"

Kisame ran a hand through his hair before addressing her. "Look, Emi, I'm sorry I left you but I didn't really have a choice..." he flinched as her eyes locked onto his. "But I mean…you're here now! You managed to find me…with the help of the zombie combi, it looks like" he added, turning to look at Kakuzu.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill her."

"I was going to. Until she mentioned that you probably wouldn't have been happy with it" The gruff man answered, finger fiddling with the latch on his briefcase. "She made me a deal I couldn't refuse; got me the 50 million in exchange for a meeting with you."

Kisame sighed gently as he turned back to her. "Look, Emi, I appreciate you coming all this way to see me but you can't stay here. This is the Akatsuki base and Pein would probably kill me if he knew-"

"If I knew what?" came another deep voice, and the group turned to see their leader standing in the doorway. Next to him was his partner, Konan, a beautiful ninja with shining blue hair and a pretty origami flower pinning some of the locks back.

"Ah…well…Leader, this is my uh…sister" Kisame managed to get out, hand flicking in her direction.

"And she is here, why?"

"She got us 50 million by providing us with a bounty" Kakuzu spoke up, holding up the briefcase. "In exchange for a meeting with him."

The man named Pein turned his purple eyes on the short girl, who stood there timidly as he watched her. Konan tilted her head as she left Pein's side and approached the other female, hand lifting to wipe a bit of dirt from her jaw.

"You poor thing. Having to travel with two violent men" she spoke out, using the sleeve of her cloak to wipe the remaining dirt away. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"They better not have-" Kisame started, before Pein lifted a hand to silence him.

"Konan?" the leader questioned, watching as she brushed hair out of Emi's face. "You wish to take care of her?"

"Let me clean her up a bit. She looks exhausted" the blue haired answered, looking her partner in the eyes. "And Kisame's sister might have some potential."

The ginger haired man went silent for a while before closing his eyes in consent and turning to walk back out of the room. Konan sighed in slight relief as she looked at Kisame.

"Let me clean her up. I'll find her some clean clothes and give her a bath. After I figure out where she can sleep for the night I'll return her to you." She motioned for Emi to follow her as she headed out of the room, and the dark haired girl glanced at the men in the room before quickly following after her.

Kisame sighed deeply as he sat at the table, rubbing his temple firmly before looking up to see his three co-workers looking at him questionably.

"So are you going to tell us or…?" Hidan asked as he sat in the remaining vacant chair, legs lifting to rest his feet on the table before they were shoved off by Kakuzu.

Kisame sighed and leaned back in his chair to look at the ceiling before clicking his tongue. "Fine. I'll tell you how it happened."

 _ **To be continued.**_


	4. Chapter 4: Backstory and a Bath

"I'll make this as short as possible" Kisame started, leaning back in his chair and resting a hand on Samehada.

"So back when I still lived in the mist it was pretty taboo to have any chakra nature other than water; for obvious reasons. I mean I'm pretty sure that's not the case anymore, but it was back then."

He clicked his tongue gently as he ran through the memory over in his head, pondering over how to condense it.

"So there was a year when Emi was about to graduate school. You know, the very first graduation where you have to determine whether you can actually hold chakra or not. So it turns out her chakra nature wasn't water; it was fire."

Hidan raised an eyebrow in mild interest as Kisame continued.

"So naturally she was deemed unworthy of graduating. Her own parents turned against her; actually pretty much everyone in the village did. But me being the wonderful person I am decided that she probably had some potential. Long story short; I trained her up in secret and that's pretty much it."

Kakuzu looked up from counting the money he had in the briefcase. "Wait, how old were you?"

"Twenty-two. She was twelve if I remember correctly" Kisame answered, counting on his fingers.

"Which means….shit she's twenty now. No wonder I didn't recognize her." He sighed in exasperation as Samehada lifted its body in a demand for more attention. "Honestly I thought she was dead. Guess I was wrong."

* * *

Emi reveled in the feeling of a proper bath. She profusely thanked Konan, who told her not to worry about it, whilst she sat and washed away all the dirt and grime that the hot spring previously couldn't. Konan sat on a stool opposite to her, hand resting in her palm as she watched the other.

"How did you survive on your own for so long at such a young age?" The blue haired woman asked, eyes showing legitimate interest.

Emi smiled softly as she sunk lower into the water, head turning to look at her.

"Well I mean it was mostly hiding and stealing food for the first couple of years. I left the village pretty much as soon as Kisame did. Couldn't find him though" she muttered gently, eyes lowering.

"After I realized I could actually fight it became easier from then on. It came to the point where I could easily make a judgement on whether I should fight or not. I was about to walk past your er….co-workers but after finding out as much information about Kisame that I could I managed to recognize the cloak."

Konan chuckled to herself softly. "I see" was all she answered with, watching as the other girl began to wash her hair.

"So what will you do now?"

Emi stopped in her actions and shrugged. "I…don't know. I didn't really think this far."

"Stay here a while. You've already been useful to us" Konan answered without missing a beat. "You got us a solid 50 million. I'm sure Kakuzu doesn't show it but he's probably eternally grateful."

Emi rinsed her hair in the water before standing and stepping out of the water, grabbing the towel that had been left for her and wrapping it around herself.

"What, you mean work for you?"

Konan nodded slowly. "Well that's for Pein to decide, obviously. But I'm sure you know of other bounties that are worth as much. Right now one of the main goals of the Akatsuki is to get money…and you would be a big help."

Emi picked up her clothes that had been cleaned for her and began to get dressed after thoroughly drying herself, silently enjoying the feeling of fresh clothes.

"Sure. I mean I didn't really have a plan after finding Kisame so if your boss allows it then I'll do it" the darker haired girl answered, turning to the other. After taking a step towards her she quickly pulled a face.

"Wait….don't tell me I'd have to-"

"Work with Kakuzu and Hidan again? Yes, that would be the case. They're on money duty right now" The bluenette answered, promptly standing to walk out of the bathroom with her new co-worker.

Emi refrained from making a statement as she followed the other down the hallway and around a corner, where a number of doors lined the walls. Konan took her about halfway down before opening one of the doors and stepping inside.

The inside of the room was quite bare. A bed, a carpet and a desk with a mirror were the only things that occupied it; and Emi figured this would be where she was sleeping that night.

"You can stay here tonight. Please set your bag inside and we'll head back downstairs. You must be hungry" the second in command explained as Emi followed her instructions.

"I haven't eaten anything proper in days. Who's cooking?" she answered eagerly as the two headed back down some stairs.

"We are. If you want food here, you have to get it yourself" was the blunt answer Emi received as they once again entered the kitchen area. All the men were still sitting there; Kisame had a look of nervousness on his face as he saw who had walked in and proceeded to bow his head down to pay attention to his sword.

"Oooh look at Mr tough shark man getting all shit scared of a tiny girl" Hidan mocked as he witnessed the scene, receiving a glare from not only Emi but from Kakuzu and Konan as well.

"Pay no attention to what this idiot spews out of his mouth. I asked Pein not to hire him but he insisted that an immortal would be of good use" Konan revealed to Emi, ignoring the Albino's middle finger.

"A vulgar asshole does not an Akatsuki member make."

Kakuzu chuckled at Konan's insults as Hidan opened his mouth to argue back, only to have his face covered by Kisame's hand in an effort to shut him up. Konan's eyes rolled as she showed Emi the ins and outs of the small kitchen, opening the fridge and taking out a container of food.

"We'll have leftovers for now. While living here you have to try and preserve as much food as you can. To 'save money'" She explained, head tilting towards Kakuzu as she quoted him.

"I'm sure you'll be fine with katsudon. It's from a restaurant a little while from here. One of our other members bought in bulk the other day for everyone." She sighed as she passed the container to Emi and indicated she should start cooking it.

Yesterday she was wondering how to afford food; today she was cooking herself a meal in a mercenary group's hidden base. This was becoming way too surreal for Emi.

 _ **To be continued.**_


	5. Chapter 5: Mixed Feelings

Two months. That's how long it had been since Emi had first stepped foot into the Akatsuki base. Now she was crouched in a tree, hidden from the enemy as she waited for her two new partners to finish them off. It was boring, to say the least. She wanted some action; she wanted to fight. But Emi was the backup in case something went wrong; which it never did of course. Her purpose was to lead them to high class bounties she knew of and then wait for them to do the rest.

A while passed and she got the all clear signal to jump down. Landing next to the other two, she raised an eyebrow as Hidan went to lay down in his ritual circle.

"Were they really worth it?"

"Fuck no. But I've had no one good in ages so this'll have to do" the albino answered, closing his eyes and starting up the ritual.

Kakuzu rolled his eyes as he made a scoffing sound, finding a rock to sit down on as he dumped the body next to him. He pulled out his bingo book from the pocket of his pants and flicked through the pages, marking off the man they had just killed with a sinister chuckle.

"That one put up a fight. I was almost tempted to call you for help" the masked man stated to Emi, glancing up at her disappointed expression. "Almost."

After waiting irritably for Hidan to finish his religious doings, the three set off towards the nearest bounty collection office. Thankfully it wasn't too far from where they had intercepted the wanted man; a guy who was large in the business world and had a hefty 40 million Ryo on his head.

Hidan and Emi both decided to wait outside, as they did every time this happened. Both agreed that the collection offices were disgusting; just the smell was enough to make you gag. Emi had been surprised at the fact that Hidan was concerned about his hygiene, considering what he did in his rituals.

It had been awkward at first, and the two had usually sat in silence while they waited for their other partner. But small talk soon began to happen, and soon enough they enjoyed their conversations together whilst waiting outside in the quiet.

"This is the third one this week….think Pein will let us have a break?!" Hidan wondered out loud hopefully, thoughts of being able to run rampant without being lectured filled his head.

Emi shrugged as she rubbed her aching shoulder gently. "Maybe. Who knows."

She hated to admit it, but Emi had really started enjoying the company of the immortal duo; Hidan especially. Kakuzu was there when she wanted an intelligent conversation, and he seemed to hold a form of respect for her which made him all the more so pleasant to talk to.

But Hidan was different. Hidan was certainly not as intelligent with his conversations as Kakuzu was, and he was kind of irritable most of the time. However, Emi felt a click with him, something that had confused her at first, but she had just learned to accept it. He was annoying, loud, selfish and vain, but Emi found his company enjoyable nonetheless, and after a while her mind wandered to thoughts of a relationship beyond that of a co-worker, or a friend.

Emi had tried to push away those thoughts. She was part of the Akatsuki; anything like that would just be unprofessional. On top of that fact, she had no idea where Hidan stood regarding that sort of thing; did his religion allow it? She had no idea, and didn't want to ask. Yet the thoughts kept coming back again and again, and the nagging urge to say something was become unbearable.

* * *

Before long, Kakuzu emerged from the collection office; briefcase held tightly in his hand, and a faint musty smell coming from his clothes.

"You smell like shit" Hidan scowled, making sure to put a distance between himself and the taller man.

"Quit your pathetic whining. If you can't deal with a bad smell then you shouldn't be part of this organization" Kakuzu retorted as the three began walking, Emi sighing to herself inwardly as the other two bickered back and forth.

Kakuzu glanced up at the sky, noting how low the sun had gotten. He quickly pulled out his map, eyes scanning over it quickly before folding it up and slipping it back into his pocket.

"We'll rest for the night. There's a cheap hotel close by, and it'll give me a chance to wash" Kakuzu stated, aiming the last comment towards Hidan with a glare, ignoring the petty insults the albino threw back at him.

Walking up a narrow stone path, the trio soon found themselves in front of a shabby looking hotel. After walking inside and ordering three rooms, Kakuzu begrudgingly pulled out some money and handed it to the bored looking receptionist.

"Thanks. Here are your keys" he droned, dropping three rusty looking keys into the burly mans outstretched hand. Kakuzu tossed two of them towards his partners before making his way down a hallway.

"We meet in my room at 8am sharp. From there we'll head back to base" he told the other two, narrowing his eyes before unlocking his door and stepping inside.

Emi headed past Hidan towards the room opposite, unlocking the door with a bit of effort and peering inside once it was open. When Kakuzu said cheap, he meant cheap.

The bed hadn't been made, and the window was coated in a thin layer of dust. Thankfully, there were no insects running about, and the bed looked clean at least. She made her way inside and pulled off her cloak, hanging it over the chair in the corner before turning to peer inside the bathroom.

Clean. Miraculously.

* * *

Hidan had propped his scythe up against the wall next to his bed, chucked his clothes on the floor, and was currently sitting in the bath for a much needed soak. Even though he loved what he did, he hated the smell that came afterwards, and made sure to scrub all of the dry blood off that had stained itself onto his body.

Like Emi, he was also feeling confused about his emotions. He liked her; he really did. But the rules of Jashinism were that no romantic relationships were to happen; unless approved by Jashin himself. His ever growing love for his god conflicted heavily against the feelings he was getting for his new co-worker, and they were putting him in an increasingly bad mood.

Throwing his head back to soak his hair in the water, he let out a frustrated and much need growl of annoyance.

"Fuck, Jashin-sama, just give me a fucking sign or something already! I've already prayed to you about this but it's like you don't even fucking listen-" he began ranting to himself, stopping mid-sentence as a knock was heard on his door.

"Who the fuck is it?" he called out irritably.

"It's Kakuzu" Emi answered, imitating a gruff voice before giving off a soft chuckle.

Hidan rolled his eyes, a large grin spreading on his face as he promptly got out of the bath and hastily wrapped a towel around himself.

Opening the door, he was greeted by Emi leaning against the doorframe.

"Do you have any soap? The stuff in my room is stuck to the edge of the bath" she asked, amused at the state of his wet hair.

"Oh, uhh….yeah" he answered, slightly flustered, as he made his way back inside towards the bathroom.

Was this the sign he had asked Jashin to send him just moments before?

 ** _To be continued._**


End file.
